Lucky Us (Amy Bloom)

I dove into LUCKY US expecting a straightforward coming-of-age story and surfaced in a complex, complicated family tale--which I found infinitely better! This story of two sisters, smart, sharp-eyed Eva and poised diva-to-be Iris, weaves in and out of the oft-overlooked stories of the displaced and marginalized of America’s war years. The sisters’ relationship forms the heart of the novel, in the very real way anyone with a sibling can understand: affection and resentment pulse under the surface of their interactions in equal measure, as Eva and Iris circle each other like magnets, drifting apart or rushing together, depending on the moment. Iris relentlessly pursues her dream of acting, leaving Eva to sew the sequins on her dresses and care for the family they collect along the way, while searching for a calling of her own.

I discovered this book at one in the afternoon, devoured the first part on my lunch break, and finished it that night. It’s hard to review this novel without summarizing Eva and Iris’ lives, or the various impulses and tragedies that drive them across countries, cities, and oceans; it all unfolds with a sense of inevitability, though the specifics of their dire or pleasant circumstances surprise when they hit. Whether it’s in Eva’s dry voice, or in the deeply revealing letters of her family and friends, Bloom’s clear, gorgeous prose will make you catch your breath--I dog-eared pages in my copy just to go back and read certain sentences over. LUCKY US is a beautiful story of selfishness, forgiveness, and the complexity of love, when the people you care for aren’t the people you thought they were--or wanted them to be.